Tag Archives: research scientist

Each semester, the International Essential Tremor Foundation presents four scholarships to students with essential tremor. The scholarships represent hope for the future, and provide support to these students during a pivotal time in their lives. As part of the scholarship application process, each applicant is asked to write an essay that answers the question, “How has essential tremor affected my life?” The following essay is from one of our fall 2018 scholarship recipients

Essential tremor (ET) has affected me physically and emotionally, and has also played a role in my future career plans. I began noticing ET when I was in middle school, and was officially diagnosed as a sophomore in high school.

Physically it has affected me when I work out at the gym, play saxophone in my various school bands, and is worse when I’m tired or stressed out. I have tried a couple of medicines so far to treat it, and am working to determine what the right level of medicine is for me for now.

Emotionally it has affected my confidence level, especially when I realized how noticeable it had become. I sometimes hold off on activities I would like to do because of the ET, but am learning to manage the condition more proactively and look forward to being able to try new treatments in the future.

ET has also impacted my career choice to a degree as well. I am looking to pursue either nursing or biology in college, partly because I want to be able to have a positive impact on others who struggle with lifelong conditions. I also want to have the opportunity to either research new drugs or related treatments that would make the lives of those who deal with these types of conditions better.

I recently learned that a family friend, who is a research scientist, is actually working on a new drug for neurological disorders, which was very exciting. This type of work is intriguing to me.

I am very excited to start my college career this fall. While I know that ET will have some impact on me, I am becoming more confident that it’s a condition that I will be able to manage during these upcoming college years. I hope to both benefit from future ET treatments and, also have the chance to work on them as part of my future career path.

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Interested in supporting students with ET during their educational journey? Make a donation to the ET scholarship fund online.